Photo courtesy Ski the Himalayas
Ski The Himalayas, a 90-minute documentary that chronicles three climbers’ 2009 and 2010 attempts at climbing and skiing 23,389-foot Baruntse is on Dish Network Pay Per View through April 14, 2011. Read More …
Gear Articles tagged ‘expeditions’
K2 and the Millionaire
By: Kate Showalter | September 16th, 2010
K2 (courtesy Svy123)
While commuting up the canyon to my cubicle not long ago, I caught this interview Diane Rehm did with Jennifer Jordan, the author of The Last Man on the Mountain: The Death of an American Adventurer on K2. The Diane Rehm Show might not be the first place you’d think you might catch a compelling mountaineering yarn, but the story of Dudley Wolfe, who died during an attempt on K2 in 1939, had me. Read More …
Bombproof Your Tent
By: Adam Riser | August 4th, 2010
A week after this picture was taken, Ben's tent was still holding strong despite seven straight days of torrential rain in the Northwest Territories.
The storm won’t stop, the water’s rising in your tent’s aptly named “bathtub floor,” and it’s only a matter of time before a pole snaps or a stake rips out of the ground, and you find yourself in serous trouble. If you would have taken the time to rig your tent properly, you would be enjoying your 178th card game in a row. Instead, you slacked. And now you’re scrambling to hold things together.
The world’s strongest tent is just an expensive kite if it’s pitched poorly. I’ve seen tents full of gear flung into crevasses, tossed into trees, and blown out of sight across desert plateaus. I’ve also seen a tent ripped to shreds in a mountain storm while the one next to it was unharmed. How you pitch your tent determines whether you sleep peacefully or spend all night hoping your shelter doesn’t disintegrate.
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Think Big: Planning for Expedition Climbing
By: Adam Riser | April 20th, 2010
Sport climbers marvel at the clean limestone of Ceüse, boulderers fantasize of the grippy goodness of Fontainebleau, and alpinists dream of going to high mountains in the most-remote corners of the planet. Unfortunately for those of us in the last group, our dreams can involve some serious logistical complications. But hey, it just keeps out the riffraff. Proper planning for a serious trip involves anywhere from six to 10 months, and you really don’t want to miss an important step. This is far from a guide on how to plan your expedition, but it’ll at least get those important items in the back of your mind for when the time comes. Check out Climbing: Expedition Planning by Clyde Soles and Phil Powers for thorough, step-by-step details on how to put together your big trip. If you have any friends who have been on expeditions, buy them some beer, and milk them for tips. Read More …
Cañón el Infierno
By: Justin Mool | April 23rd, 2009
Jonathan Wilson and a team of four international cavers were the first to explore the entire Infierno Canyon in northwest Mexico’s Sierra Madre Oriental. They were on a reconnaissance mission for future expeditions, mapping possible new entrances to a vast system of interconnected caves in Cretaceous limestone. Over eight days, they battled thirst, hunger, elation, and injury as they navigated the narrow slot canyons.
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FAIR MEANS – A Trip into Canada’s NWT
By: Pat Goodman | April 22nd, 2009
The gurgling underwater acoustics soothe my frustration only momentarily—after all, the idea is to stay in the raft. If we were to flip on the Nahanni, the only crowds that would greet us when (if?) we resurfaced would be a group of grizzly bears eager to help themselves to our stash of Mountain House meals and Probars, and maybe even a Jones/Goodman snack.